The development of phonological awareness in children is essential since it determines their future reading skills, primary school achievements, and social interaction with peers. This term denotes an understanding of the functioning of sounds and the structure of language, the ability to rhyme, identify the words starting with the same sound, and segment them into syllables and sounds. Creating individualization, in this case, contributes to the fact that each child feels supported and considers himself or herself successful (Edutopia, 2017). Thus, small group activities are, undoubtedly, an effective way to develop a solid foundation of language skills and literacy.
The first activity created in Clinical Field Experience B was a syllable game video, which involves reciting names alongside clapping. One kid at a time was invited to clap and list the syllables using their names. In this case, the nature of syllables was introduced to the students, and the development of the literacy skills taught was assessed by evaluating the proper awareness of the sound structure of words. The benefits of learning in small groups include improved social opportunities and increased learning efficiency (Vanderbilt EBIP, 2015). Therefore, to additionally appraise their understanding and progress, children were offered to form temporary groups to practice the variations after the lesson on their own and subsequently report their advancement.
The second activity was a video with a troll who required children to understand the presents, but his speaking was not easy to comprehend. The students’ progress was assessed by evaluation capacity to use words from their distinct phonemes. This activity was based on the children’s love for gifts and related performance. This aspect is essential because learning should be fun and interesting for children (Burcar, 2013). Only in this case it will lead to significant results in phonological children’s awareness.
The third activity was identifying the initial sound of words. The students were asked to determine the picture’s name and the original phonemes to describe them in two separate piles. Thus, he or she compared the primary letters of the images after identifying each word from the assemblage. The progress in skills was assessed by the appraisal of understanding of primordial phonemes through contrasting and identification of original sounds from a different collection of words.
To summarize, small group activities represent a way to create a solid foundation of literacy and language skills and improve children’s social opportunities. I can implement what I have learned in my future teaching practice by effectively developing an appropriate program with listed actions created in Clinical Field Experience B and some additional entertainments. The essential aspect, in this case, is the formation of a child’s involvement and enjoyment of the process. It could help evaluate phonemes’ perception, develop attention and memory for thinking a sequence of sounds, and maximize the gains attributed to a motivated learner. Moreover, it is crucial to pay special attention to each child’s difficulties and progress, creating additional opportunities for those who have problems in expressing their answers.
References
Burcar, M. (2013). Preschool small group teacher led activity. YouTube. Web.
Edutopia. (2017). Station rotation: Differentiating instruction to reach all students [Video]. YouTube. Web.
Vanderbilt EBIP. (2015). Small group direct instruction [Video]. YouTube. Web.